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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bore — to tire
  5. prune — to trim
  6. shower — rain
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. root — the cause
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. content — the amount
  11. rash — hasty
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bore — to drill
  14. rash — a series
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. foot — a measure
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — to wash
  22. content — happy
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. root — of a word

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com